The wife of a man killed after he was crushed by a falling concrete beam has spoken about the "gaping hole" which has been left in her life.

Father-of-two Trevor 'Ted' Elson, had worked for Romney Marsh farming business A.A.Clifton Limited for 47 years, when he was killed at the age of 68.

In 2018 he had been helping move six-metre-long concrete beams, weighing over 300kg each, at Haguelands Farm, in Burmarsh, from a trailer when he tripped and fell from the edge, and one of the unstable beams fell on him.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the firm was in breach of health and safety procedures and it was issued a fine of £30,000.

Now Mr Elson's devastated family has paid tribute to the "kind and loving" husband, father and grandfather.

Wife Eileen Elson, from Aldington, near Ashford, said: "He was a hard-working man, a good husband and a loving father and his sudden death has left a gaping hole in our lives.

"He was so kind and amazing and very sadly missed.

"Trevor and I were married for over 40 years and were looking forward to his retirement.

"He had semi-retired but still worked three days a week at the farm where he had been employed for 47 years.

"We had been making plans for our retirement - taking holidays in the summer months which we hadn't been able to do when we were younger because farmers work all hours of daylight throughout the summer, and of making improvements to our house and garden."

Mrs Elson, 65, said her husband particularly enjoyed holidaying around the UK, with Cornwall being his favourite place to visit.

He also loved spending time with his grandchildren.

The couple met at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone at a dance put on by band Acropolis for charity.

"I was walking down the stairs with my friend and saw my cousin at the bottom talking to Trevor," Mrs Elson said.

"I said to my friend 'I'm going to marry him', and I did."

They married in September 1977 and had their first child Stuart the following year before Sarah Jane followed two years later.

Details of the incident which killed Mr Elson were revealed following the successful prosecution of A.A. Clifton Limited by the health and safety watchdog.

The investigation revealed on March 13, 2018 farm worker Mr Elson was working with others to move concrete beams at the Marsh farm.

Each beam weighed more than 300kg and needed to be lifted by a forklift.

Whilst on a trailer, attaching lifting chains to unload a beam, Mr Elson tripped and fell from the edge, catching one of the beams which was unstable from the way previous beams had been removed.

But the operation to move the beams had been carried out at short notice and had not been properly planned.

At Folkestone Magistrates Court on Tuesday, January 7, A.A. Clifton Limited, of Haguelands Farm, Burmarsh, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and were fined £30,000, with full costs of £5446.50.

After, the watchdog described the incident as "avoidable".

Mrs Elson adds: "Being made aware of the appalling injures Trevor suffered which led to his death has had a devastating affect on us all.

"Hearing the Health and Safety Executive describe the accident as an avoidable incident which could have been prevented with proper staff training, and risk assessment being carried out is very difficult to come to terms with and I am now having to face the rest of my life and into my old age without him.

"Trevor would still be with us if Cliftons could have waited for the builders to do the job, instead of making my husband and co workers do it."

A statement from the directors of A.A.Clifton Limited said: "We are very sorry as a business and as a family that a loyal and well regarded colleague died due to a work related accident.

"As a business, we do our best to ensure a safe place of work, however, unfortunately a regrettable accident happened.

"We deeply regret its happening and have taken steps to ensure that nothing similar happens in the future.

"Our thought are with his family, friends and former work colleagues at this time."

As well as his wife and two children, Mr Elson leaves behind two grandchildren, Bethanie and Ellie.

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